Summer Camp Q&A with Anders Beck from Greensky Bluegrass

Before Summer Camp Music Festival last year I had the chance to ask Anders Beck a few questions about his summer plans. In case you weren’t aware Anders plays the dobro (drop steel) guitar for Greensky Bluegrass, an all strings bluegrass band originating in lower Michigan! GSB is renowned for it’s high energy live performances. They are a relentless touring outfit that has been steadily growing in the Bluegrass scene for quite a few years now. They are recognized by many other highly talented musicians and are often seen collaborating or guesting in with bands such as The String Cheese Incident, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Cornmeal, and Railroad Earth just to name a few.

Here is the interview

1. Do you have a favorite Summer Camp Music Festival memory?

Anders: Oh man… I’ve got lots of great memories from Summer Camp over the years.
My favorites probably revolve around the outdoor late-night stage. We’ve
played some sets there that started around 2 in the morning and went on for
hours. At that hour, the fans that are still up are just raging and they are
excited to embrace the psychedelic side of Greensky, which we like to
explore musically. It’s really fun to get way out there and just have the
music swimming in space and then build it back into the slamming bluegrass
texture. It is, for lack of a better description, “a trip”.

Another fond memory from SCMF was seeing Cody, The Chicago Farmer, smash a
laptop on stage with a baseball bat during his set. Musical tastes, musical
politics, musical genres aside…. that’s just some real troubadour stuff

right there! one man and a guitar… and a baseball bat and a laptop. I’m a
sucker for surprises!

2. What are your 2014 summer plans?

I’m lucky to say that our summer plans involve lots and lots of festivals.
We’re going to be all over the place! Jazz Fest, Bonnaroo, Telluride
Bluegrass, High Sierra, Northwest String Summit, Outside Lands and a bunch
of others, too. We’re also playing three nights outside at Bell’s Brewery
for the Beer Garden Opener, which is always a great, great time. It’s
Greensky’s 10th Anniversary of playing the Beer Garden Opener so that is an
exciting milestone for the band and the brewery. We are also playing Red
Rocks again with Railroad Earth and The Wood Brothers. It’s such an honor
and a dream to play there. I fell in love with the place when i saw Phish
there almost 20 years ago and have seen lots of shows there since. Walking
on stage for the first time last year was pretty emotional for me.

3. Do you have new album or tracks coming out soon? (2014)

We have a new album called “If Sorrows Swim” coming out in September. I’m
ridiculously excited for people to hear it. I may be biased, but i think
people are going to flip out where they hear the whole thing.

4. What’s your favorite summer meal / BBQ?

Well, the obvious choice is delicious meats grilled to perfection over open
flames. That’s the taste of summer for me. But i also love all the delicious
fresh vegetables that later summer brings. Like homegrown tomatoes and basil
in a Caprese salad or something.

5. What’s your favorite summer beverage of choice?

Usually a cold can of shitty beer, honestly. But I’m also a big fan of a
well-made margarita… but you need to use the good stuff for that.

6. Do you have any secret places you like to go stop on tour in the summer and hike, or swim or fish, etc.?

Yup! but they’re secret!

This has been sitting in the vault for some time and I was meaning to get it to you all sooner. Glad I could share with you just why SCamp is important to GSB. Lets hope to see them back sometime soon.

They are embarking on a winter tour just as this is being posted. Here are the dates: